


Mistakes Are Fine... Unless It's This One

by zoombles



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Alternate Universe - Michael Has a Squip, F/M, M/M, if it isnt obvious lin manuel's michael's squip, michael is a pining boi, theres more ships but spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2018-12-02 19:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11515575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoombles/pseuds/zoombles
Summary: Two years had passed since the whole SQUIP incident, and everything had been normal since then. Except Michael was even more in love with his best friend, he and Jeremy had become relatively well-liked, Rich wasn't as much of an asshole, and Jeremy was finally dating Christine.Now they were at their senior camping trip, and in all the rush and excitement, Michael hadn't noticed that he had taken a normal Mountain Dew - the kind that would reactivate the SQUIP left in his head since the play - until Rich had jokingly started chasing him away from the campsite and he had already taken a sip.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so here's the basics:  
> -ive read the script. michael is squipped in the play,,, dont argue w me over that, i have the screenshot to prove it.  
> (edit: apparently it was a typo or smth?? either way its a fanfiction and based on kin shit so yeah (if you know what kin is?? cool! dont?? its hard to explain im sorry but basically im michael?? kinda?? i have memories n stuff and can kinda communicate w him n yeah,, rlly hard to explain))  
> -idk about every school?? but mine does a senior trip (given im not a senior for another five years) so i thought,,, senior camping trip, why not.  
> -the drama club, rich, and michael have avoided mtn dew original since,,, yknow. michael likes code red the most, white out is a close second though

Everyone knew senior year would be hard - and that hard would be an understatement.

College was next year, there was finals and all that stuff. And friends that were closer than anything could be spending their last year together. 

Sad to think about, but it was reality.

As far as Michael and his best friend Jeremy were concerned, however, they weren’t losing each other anytime soon.

Two years had passed since the whole “SQUIP” thing, in which Jeremy, Michael, and the entire drama club nearly became mindless zombies controlled by supercomputers - well, they did, but Michael had brought what was needed to stop that after doing a shit-ton of research.

And, in mid-October of senior year, they had their senior camping trip. 

 

It wasn’t anything much. Four days of being in the wilderness, and for the most part, the students had to bring food to share with each other, including drinks.

And, of course, the wonderful two-hour bus drive. Can’t forget that.

It was chaos, of course. Shouting, fighting for the window seats and the seats with the outlets (high-tech bus, cool, yeah, yeah) and cliques shouting along to whatever music they were listening to on the way there. Since phones would be confiscated as soon as we got there, everyone was updating their status on Facebook and Twitter and all of that, making their last posts and saying goodbye to friends from other schools for the next four days.

“Michael? Earth to Michael Mell, Jeremy Heere talking.”

Michael shook my head to escape from my thoughts, giving a signature smile as he looked at his best friend since Pre-K. 

“Michael Marsh-Mell-ow responding,” he stated, the nickname from fourth grade or so making his smile brighten. “Spaced out a bit there, Player One. My bad.”

“That’s alright. Escaping the chaos, I’m guessing - wish I could do that as well as you.”

“Eh. It’s cool at the right time, not so much at the wrong time.” He glanced at the empty space beside Jeremy, where his girlfriend had previously been seated. “Where’d Christine go?”

“To talk to Jake, I think. They joined a new extracurricular together from what I heard - not sure what.”

“Oo. Careful, Jere, don’t let her get too attached,” Michael told the other with a small chuckle.

“Yeah, yeah. She only sees him as a friend anyways, after the Halloween party incident a while back. And he’s dating Rich, remember?”

It seemed true enough, though from his tone of voice, it seemed like Jeremy was questioning it himself.

“Oh. By the way, an announcement came on for like… five minutes until we get there a minute ago,” Jeremy informed his friend, who gave a nod, shutting down and closing the 3DS he had brought in order to play a bit of Pokémon Sun on the way to the campsite and back to the school.

Shoving the device into his backpack with one hand, Michael used the other to grab his phone from his pocket, reading off a time of 16:49 before shutting his phone down, looking out the window as the bus turned onto a dirt and rock road.

Right as it did so, the shortest kid in the grade was slamming himself into the seat beside Jeremy.

“‘Sup, tall-asses! You guys ready for this or what?!”

“Being away from our gaming devices for days? Can’t speak for Jere, but I’m not excited,” Michael stated with a small sigh. “...well, maybe a little.”

“It’s only a few days, Michael. We’ll- we’ll be fine. I’m ready for a chance to have a decent sleep schedule and not have electronics to distract me and keep me up all night.” Jeremy gave a small laugh, though it was obvious that it wasn’t really a joke.

“There’s the spirit, Jere!” 

The voice was recognizable as Jake’s, and the student was nearly immediately sat beside Michael.

“Jake! Where’s Christine?” Jeremy asked, a bit of confusion and even concern in his voice.

“She’s talking to Brooke. She’s fine, Jeremy, don’t worry - a girl like her is more than capable of keeping herself safe.”

“I- I know, it’s just… I don’t know.”

“You get worried,” Michael said, giving his best reassuring smile. “She’s a best friend, but more than that. It’s understandable.”

“Yeah- yeah, that’s it.”

In the conversation, the four boys had yet to notice that the bus had stopped and students were getting off. 

“Shit, guys! Let’s go!” Rich shouted, practically running back to his seat to grab his bag. Jake followed behind him, as Jeremy and Michael put their bags over their shoulders, quickly heading off the bus and towards the campsite.

“I think we’re just doing hamburgers and hot dogs tonight. Fire-cooked pancakes tomorrow. Not sure about what else,” Jake said as soon as he and Rich had caught up with Jeremy and Michael. “And any drinks any night as far as I’m aware.”

“Alright. Thanks, Jake,” Michael responded. “Race you guys to the campsite.”

He didn’t even wait for a response before he took off running, hist feet kicking up the dirt and leaves on the path.

Based on what sounded like three other pairs of feet running after him, the others had decided to go along with it. 

Rich was actually the fastest out of all of them, catching up to Michael and passing him just as they made it to the site. Jeremy was last, and fell flat on his face the second he made it to camp - luckily, he only ended up with a bloody nose that stopped after a few minutes of help from Michael and Christine, who had come over once Michael was there.

The grills were set up within a half-hour, and food was done by the time the clock hit six.

And Michael, being someone who practically lives off of every Mtn. Dew other than the original, didn’t think twice when he grabbed a can with the familiar name on it, not even glancing at the color of it or which version it was.

A minute or so after he sat down, Rich (who probably managed to sneak some alchohol in, based on how out of it he seemed) shouted at him to run as he was standing up, beaming. The antics were childish, but neither of them could care less - especially since Rich was definitely drunk.

Michael grabbed his can of soda and started to run, not even going for a path as he took off into the forest filled with autumn leaves.

“Better keep going, tall-ass!” Rich called from behind him, the “insult” obviously teasing.

“Good luck catching me, Rich!”

Michael wasn’t scared to go in multiple different directions, doing his best to confuse the drunk, shorter student chasing him.

Once he reached a small clearing, surrounded by bushes to provide adequate coverage, Michael allowed himself to catch his breath, carefully opening the soda in his hand and taking a sip.

There, without the noise of the other students to distract him, Michael noticed that the can of Mountain Dew in his hand wasn’t Code Red, Pitch Black, or anything special.

It was the original - the kind that would turn on a SQUIP.

Michael still had a SQUIP in his head from the play years back.

“Fuck.”

Just as the cuss escaped his mouth, his head began hurting - and more “someone just set a bomb off in my mind” than “headache”. A lot more.

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST- THE HELL?!”

“Target male inaccessable.”

The can in his hand immediately fell to the ground, placing his hands on his forehead.

That voice wasn’t him, it wasn’t Rich, no one else was around - what the hell was happening?

“Calibration in process. Please excuse some mild discomfort.”

“MILD?! HOLY SHIT-”

It killed.

This was it, Michael was dying. He was dying and there was a voice in his head and he was going to die alone and no one was around and he couldn’t die alone.

“Calibration complete. Access procedure initiated.”

As suddenly as the pain had begun, it ceased, the voice stopping as well. Michael gave a sigh of relief, allowing the tension he had to be released.

“Discomfort level may increase.”

Before the words could even process, the pain returned to Michael’s head, only this time twice as bad, a scream ripping from his throat as he collapsed to his knees, then to the ground.

“Accessing: neural memory. Accessing: muscle memory. Access procedure: complete.”

The pain once again faded out, and Michael shut his eyes, preparing himself for another wave of pain. After a few seconds had passed, and he was fairly certain that it was over, he reopened his eyes. He didn’t know what he expected, but seeing Lin-Manuel fucking Miranda, the man who made In The Heights, the musical he would listen to for weeks on end when he was younger (and Hamilton, though that one didn’t catch his attention as much), standing in front of him was not one of them.

“Michael Mell… welcome to your super quantum unit intel processor: your SQUIP.” 

So he did reactivate it. 

Shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a nanocomputer reactivated inside his head, which can shock him for any wrong movements, Michael's stuck trying to play it off as everything being fine as the Squip directs him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o boi here we go,,,  
> this took longer than planned but!! here it is !!!

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, turn  _ off  _ I didn’t- I don’t want you reactivated!” Michael’s voice was fast, panic-filled, tears welling up in his eyes. He knew what had happened, and he hated it.

 

He knew what Squips did. He knew how they treated the people they “helped”.

 

And he’d rather not have Lin as a person ruined by this shitty supercomputer.

 

**Incorrect thoughts… I will be able to help you, you are aware of that, correct?** The voice was easily recognizable to be Lin-Manuel’s - that is, to be his Squip, who had the same form and voice as Lin-Manuel.

 

“Fuck off.”

 

As soon as the words had escaped Michael’s mouth, a jolt of pain ran through him, a yelp escaping his mouth.

 

**Now, Michael. Nothing will improve with that mindset, with you not complying. You do want Jeremy to like you in return to your feelings, correct?** ****  
  


“I… I mean, yeah. But I know how his Squip treated him, how he had him act. If it includes using people to build my standing, or, or cheating on someone? I’m  _ out _ .”

 

**Jeremy, as you are now, will never show any interest beyond platonic. First things first, he’s taken. Though I believe… hm.**

 

“What. Are you going to try and break Jeremy and Christine up? Because fuck that. He’s happy. I’m happy if he’s happy, I’m not letting you hurt him.”

 

**No. I can see possible outcomes. Their relationship will not last much longer, if I am correct - which I likely am. The probability of Christine ending her romantic relationship with Jeremy is… let me check the numbers again… 83%. This should give way to Jeremy being depressed and easy to upset for… at least a week, which will, in turn, give you time to prove that you will be there for Jeremy when others are not. Of course, human error must be factored in, and unless Jeremy’s Squip is reactivated, there is the possibility that those actions will not lead him to form romantic attraction to you. If they do, he will need time to be able to form those attractions, and longer to confess to you.**

 

“So, you’re trying to make me basically force Jeremy into having the same feelings towards me as I do towards him,” Michael responded, crossing his arms.

**Not exactly. And I suggest you stop responding verbally - you can communicate telepathically with me, and Rich should be within earshot of your responses within the next ten seconds.**

 

“Rich! Oh, God, he could help I bet -  _ Rich! Rich, I’m- _ ”

 

A small scream escaped Michael as another shock was administered by the Squip. 

 

**Michael. If I am to improve your life,** **_no one_ ** **in your school, family, or anywhere that would be aware of the play incident can know.**

 

Michael went quiet, only because he wanted to avoid being shocked again, until approaching footsteps signaled the arrival of Rich, who, while obviously still drunk, had a look of concern.

 

“Michael, are you alright?” Rich quickly asked, his words a bit slurred. “I heard you scream, and-”

 

**Say that you’re fine. An animal had moved and had startled you.**

 

“Yeah, I’m fine, Rich. Just an animal that startled me. Nothin’ bad,” Michael stated as instructed, doing his best to keep his voice from wavering. He was scared, he was more than scared, he was absolutely fucking terrified and seconds from an anxiety attack or something.

 

**Michael, I can help with regulation of your neurochemicals, to keep your anxiety in check, but you have to try too.**

 

_ Right. Right, sorry.  _ Michael gave as thoughts for a response, his gaze slightly shifting from where Rich was to where Squip-Lin (squin?) was standing, right behind the shorter boy. 

 

“Alright, if you say so.” Rich paused for a few seconds, before he added one more thing onto the response. “Tall-ass.”

 

Michael caught a glimpse of his Squip giving a sigh and a disapproving head-shake. 

 

**He’s going to tell you to follow him back to camp. Show no signs of refusal.**

 

“C’mon, Mikey-M. Bet you don’t know which way camp is.”

 

He shook his head, wrapping his hands around the ears of his headphones, which he was keeping around his neck despite the fact that he didn’t have his phone on him - he was used to them.

 

“Then you better follow me. Better not get you lost - Jeremy worries about  _ you  _ almost as much as he worries about  _ Christine _ . God, you’d think you were in a secret relationship or somethin’,” Rich gave a pause as he turned to begin heading back towards camp, “you aren’t, are you?”

 

“No. No, hell no - Rich, I’m gay as fuck but Jeremy’s straight as far as I’m aware and he’d  _ never  _ cheat on Christine, and shit, bro, he’s way out of my league.”

 

A laugh escaped Rich at the last statement. “Sure, believe what you wanna believe. But if he wasn’t dating Christine, I think you’d have a good chance with him, Michael. Hasn’t he told you that you’re his favorite person, even while he was in love with Christine?”

 

The thought ran through Michael’s head a few times, before his Squip said something.

 

**He is making a good point. That is a very clear memory; you’ve definitely made sure to remember it. You were playing Apocalypse of the Damned at the time, from what I can tell, though it was paused at that moment.**

 

The description of when the words had come from Jeremy was exact, which confused Michael at first, before he remembered,  _ Oh, right, this thing is in my head, it can access memories, thoughts, that shit. _

 

Quickly remembering that time was passing, Michael gave a small shake of his head, before returning himself to the conversation.

 

“Yeah, he said that, but I think he meant it in like… a best-friend kind of way? He doesn’t like me like that.”

 

Rich gave a small laugh as the trees ahead became more sparse, opening to the small clearing where the tents were set up.

 

**Michael, trust me. He’ll be able to say that in more than a best-friend way soon enough, just listen to me,** the nanocomputer next to Michael stated. The teen turned his attention for a millisecond, before quickly turning back to Rich, trying to play it off the best he could.

 

Unfortunately, Rich wasn’t as drunk as Michael had thought.

 

The shorter teen paused, and Michael was betting that blurry memories of the green can in his hand was rushing back to his friend, and the can being on the ground when they met each other in the other clearing.

 

“Michael.” The tone of voice that came from Rich confirmed Michael’s suspicions. “Normal Mountain Dew - what the fuck were you  _ thinking _ ? Please tell me you have some Red on hand, this really isn’t good.”

 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Michael asked, putting a fake tone of confusion in his voice, as instructed by the Squip. “It was Sprite, dude, chill. I’m not an idiot.”

 

It was obvious that Rich wasn’t convinced, but the topic was immediately dropped as the person who had first introduced Squips to the school headed to the tent he was sharing with Jake.

 

Michael glanced over to the tent with his items in it, noticing the shadow of Jeremy from the lantern his best friend had turned on as it became dark. Probably reading a comic or something.

 

As the teen took a deep breath, Lin- er, his Squip, placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

**Trust me, Michael. Jeremy will realize how special you are - he’ll fall for you as long as I can help.**

 

He didn’t seem as cruel as what Jeremy had described when he talked about his Squip. Other than the first minute or so of the device being active, he hadn’t been shocked.

 

Maybe he was just lucky so far. Whatever it was, he was thankful for it.

 

**Now. Relaxed, yet confident posture. Hands out of your pockets. Head to your tent, and I’ll instruct you from there.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so michael's squip isnt too bad. yet.  
> but uh.  
> and just so you guys know i got a tumblr too! its @connz-does-art / connz-does-art.tumblr.com !! i post art there and stuff


	3. AUTHORS NOTE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry for y’all who saw this updated and got excited about it maybe being a new chapter after so long

heyo.   
im the author! obviously.   
please read this all the way through before closing out.   
so this hasn’t updated in,, a While.   
im sad to say that this version is probably not gonna be picked back up.   
but im happy to say that im currently working on a fic for dear evan hansen, ft dragons, zoevan, and a complicated ass au!!  
that’s hiding from heritage!! feel free to check it out!!   
and im even happier to say that im planning on rewriting this story completely once I finish hfh!!!  
im working on lots of other original projects in the background, so sadly I can only focus on one fan project at a time right now. otherwise I’d already be rewriting.   
but I feel like I’ve improved a lot since this fic!!! so im going to rewrite it as soon as i can!!!  
until then, y’all. thanks for supporting this story and i can’t wait to get back to you with the new version.   
(ill add another chapter with the new link once it’s up!!!)

**Author's Note:**

> yeah so im still writing the next chapter?? n im on vacation right now so it might take a while to be finished,,, but writing this kinda stopped my writer's block so!! i should be done w it within a week or so!!!
> 
> character count; 8465
> 
> page count; 5 (which i think is my new best length for a chapter!! so!!!)
> 
> word count; 1510


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